▲A scene from the drama 'Crash Landing on You.' Hyun Bin (left) plays a North Korean army officer, and Son Ye-jin (right) appears as a South Korean chaebol.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Despite the worsening of Korea-Japan relations over issues such as forced labor compensation during Japanese colonial rule, Korean content, including the drama Crash Landing on You, is gaining tremendous popularity in Japan.
In a column written by Takao Yamada, a special editorial board member of the Mainichi Shimbun, on the 10th, he mentioned that when he asked Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in mid-last month if he had watched Crash Landing on You, Motegi replied, "I have watched all of it."
At that time, Yamada had watched up to episode 3 out of the total 16 episodes, and Motegi responded, "You're late, Mr. Yamada," according to the column.
Yamada praised the drama's screenplay, noting that even defectors from North Korea participated in its creation, calling it a "romantic comedy that realistically depicts the daily life and human characters of North Korean residents," and described its concept as "innovative."
It is analyzed that the Korean Wave is strongly rising amid the spread of self-quarantine and other measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Netflix, one of the online video streaming (OTT) platforms, on the 4th of this month, the top-ranked show in Japan's Netflix overall ranking was It's Okay to Not Be Okay, followed by Crash Landing on You in second place.
As of the 10th, Crash Landing on You maintained its second place, and Itaewon Class ranked fifth.
Additionally, Netflix Japan has a separate section for Korean works, featuring titles such as Monster and Something in the Rain.
The Korean Wave is also significant in Japanese media. The weekly magazine Aera, affiliated with the Asahi Shimbun, prepared a special feature analyzing works starring Hyun Bin, the lead actor of Crash Landing on You, including My Name is Kim Sam-soon, Secret Garden, and Hyde Jekyll, Me.
Hyun Bin was also featured as a cover model in the June issue of the magazine Shukan Asahi. Since July, the Asahi Shimbun has published nine articles and columns related to Crash Landing on You.
On the 9th, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun published an editorial analyzing Korea-Japan relations by mentioning that the themes of "division" and "revenge" in Crash Landing on You and Itaewon Class resemble recent moves by the Moon Jae-in administration.
Regardless of the editorial content, this appears to be a phenomenon that confirms the Korean Wave craze.
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